Press Releases:

• Paul S. Hoffman donated his services as an artist to help a local elementary school celebrate 100 Years of Flight on December 17, 2003.

Cognetics' Artist at Stony Brook Elementary School (PDF )

• Anne Pauker-Kreitzberg has been named as a member of The Global Committee on the Future of OD, sponsored through the Organization Development Network. The mission of this Committee is to look into the future of the profession and provide recommendations on how OD practitioners can prepare for future challenges. In confirming her appointment to the Committee, Chair Ted Nguyen expressed thanks for Anne's commitment in advancing the field of organization development.

Cognetics’ Pauker-Kreitzberg named to Global Committee on the Future of OD (PDF )

• Anne Pauker-Kreitzberg has been appointed as a Lecturer in the Department of Management in the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Anne, who holds a MBA in Management from the New York Institute of Technology, teaches a course in Human Resource Management.

Cognetics’ Practice Leader Named to Wharton Faculty (PDF )

• In 1982, Dr. Charles Kreitzberg founded a software design company he called "Cognetics" – a name he made up while thumbing through a dictionary. Yet it was only recently that Kreitzberg, a resident of Princeton Junction, learned of another Cognetics right in his own backyard: West Windsor-Plainsboro’s Thomas Grover Middle School participates in the New Jersey Talent Network Cognetics program, a statewide program designed to promote creative problem solving.  Read more:

Kids and Grownups Get Creative With Cognetics (PDF )

• Official press release announcing the merger of Cognetics Corporation and the Pauker Consulting Group, to form Cognetics' Alignment Advantage practice:

Merger Launches Business-Technology Alignment Powerhouse (PDF )

Recent Presentations:

• Cognetics was represented in presentations at the Society for Technical Communication's 51st annual conference in Baltimore (http://www.stc.org/51stConf/), May 9-12, 2004. See the session and workshop descriptions below for more details.
  
  Planning Usability Tests For Maximum Impact
  Scott McDaniel and Laura Snyder
  
  Designing Search Pages
  Scott McDaniel
  
  Post-Conference Workshop: Managing User-Centered Design Projects
  Scott McDaniel and Laura Snyder
  
  
• Anne Pauker Kreitzberg, President of Cognetics' Alignment Advantage spoke to:
  
  Association for Women in Computing
  Northern New Jersey Chapter
  May 11, 2004
  Livingston, NJ
  
  "Aligning Business, Technology and People"
  
  One of the most pressing challenges facing executives is that of leveraging business strategy with the right technology that best supports business process and the people who use it. It sounds straight-forward, but experience shows that it's awfully hard to do.
  
  We explored some of the underlying causes behind this challenge and some tactics for moving from "vision" to "reality." We focused on how technologists can diagnose the extent of alignment in their organization or on a project, and what to do to increase their team's effectiveness.
  
  
• AFP (Association of Financial Professionals), 24th Annual Conference, Orlando Florida, November 2-5, 2003.
  
  Dr. Charles Kreitzberg spoke at the Financial Executives Forum, a focused, issue-oriented one day event on Nov, 4 2003 created by and for senior-level Annual Conference attendees.  His session was part of an Afternoon Breakout, a roundtable with Kenneth S. Mar, Treasurer, Gallup Organization. The Breakout was from 1:45 - 3:00 p.m. at The Peabody Orlando on Tuesday, November 4, 2003.

Session Description: Getting the most out of your technology investment is a key competitive advantage. Yet organizations struggle with how to
identify, integrate and promote solutions that pay off. Gain practical tips about asking the right questions, understanding why technology investments are tough to measure, and assessing the total value of technology within the business strategy. Participants are encouraged to contribute their own practices and successes.

• URISA (Urban and Regional Information Systems Association), 41st Annual Conference, Atlanta Georgia, October 11-15, 2003.
  
  Anne Pauker-Kreitzberg spoke during the 8:30-10:00 AM session on October 15. Her topic was "Show Me the Money."

Cognetics' Pauker-Kreitzberg on How to "Show Me the Money" (PDF )

• EXECUTIVE BRIEFING: Achieving Value Through Business-Technology Alignment

The Harvard Business Review just published a provocative article entitled, "IT Doesn't Matter." We think Information Technology does matter, but it's hard to get right.

A number of influential business executives joined us on Thursday, July 24, for an in-depth, interactive discussion of how to get the most value from investments in technology.  Here is a summary of the feedback we got from the participants:

Overall Rating:

4.3 on a 5-point scale

What would you tell other people about this session?

"This session was very worthwhile to help managers improve relationships within technology departments as well as within the organization as a whole."
"Excellent! Delivered much more than I expected."
"I received a lot of value and give this Briefing a very high rating."
"The presentations and discussion were very informative and offer many tools to apply in day-to-day practice."
"The business/IT alignment issues are probably the most important ones we currently deal with as IT leaders. This session was very informative with regard to understanding these issues and providing guidelines for future steps."
"I got a great deal of clarity regarding the business/IT ‘duality’ and how to support business people in effectively managing their IT-related concerns. Also, I appreciated the discussion of the barriers to change in organizations, which can apply equally to non-IT-related changes."
"This session was very informative, providing useful tools and a roadmap for change."
"Come!"

Read the announcement:

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING: Achieving Value Through Business-Technology Alignment (PDF )

• Charlie Krietzberg and Ann Pauker-Kreitzberg spoke at the 2003 SALT (Society for Applied Learning Technology) Conference:

2003 Interactive Technologies Conference on Training, Education & Job Performance Improvement
http://www.salt.org/salt.asp?ss=l&pn=washington
The conference was held on 6-8 August, 2003 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.

Getting the "Bang" out of Technology Investment
Friday, 8 August, 2003, 8:30 am

• Scott McDaniel co-presented a session at the 12th Annual Usability Professionals Association (UPA) Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona:

Tailoring Search Interfaces for Specialized Uses
Wednesday, 25 June, 2003, 1:30-3:00 PM

Handouts from the session:  upa2003-handouts.pdf   (PDF )

• Cognetics' Scott McDaniel co-presented two sessions at FedWeb Spring 2003, a conference designed by and for government web professionals desiring to improve government e-service delivery.

Designing Search Pages - Strategies and Best Practices
Scott McDaniel, Cognetics Corporation
Michelle McDaniel
Wednesday, May 7, 2003, 1:30-2:30 PM

Providing Your Users with an Effective Search Page - A Case Study
Louis Drummond, Library of Congress
Scott McDaniel, Cognetics Corporation
Wednesday, May 7, 2003, 2:50-4:00 PM

FedWeb was held at the School of Public Policy Building, George Mason University, on the Arlington, Virginia Campus.